Indian, global NGOs urge govt to stop coal auctioning, withdraw EIA 2020

Indian and international NGOs have urged the Centre to not go ahead with the auction of coal blocks for commercial mining, as a majority of the mines are located in areas inhabited by indigenous people. Similarly, the NGOs also called for the withdrawal of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2020 over concerns like the provision for post-facto project clearance and elimination of public consultation process, reports ETV Bharat senior reporter Chandrakala Choudhury.

New Delhi:The Centre's decision to auction coal blocks for commercial mining to revive India's flailing economy has triggered debate and discussion from people all across the country and the globe.

Not only Indian, but even global NGOs have raised concerns against the auctioning of coal blocks. They have asked India to stop the use of coal for reviving the country's economy, citing that coal mines are mostly concentrated in areas inhabited by indigenous people who have been bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Denmark-based International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and New Delhi-based National Campaign Against Torture and Indigenous Lawyers Association of India, made the appeal to the government ahead of the auctioning of 41 coal blocks slated for September 29 as a part of India's 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' and to revive the economy.

Kathrin Wessendorf, Director, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs said, "The coal mines are mostly concentrated in the lands inhabited by India's Indigenous People in Maharashtra (three mines), Jharkhand (nine), Odisha (nine), Chhattisgarh (nine) and Madhya Pradesh (11). Analysis of the descriptions of the 41 coal mines available on the website of the MSTC Limited under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India show that a staggering 30 coal blocks (73%) do not have the mandatory forest clearance required under the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, and 37 coal blocks (over 90%) do not have the mandatory Environmental Clearance required under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2006."

"The auctioning of the coal blocks without obtaining mandatory legal clearances effectively is bad news for the rule of law with respect to the most vulnerable people on the planet," she said, adding that using coal for reviving the economy through 'Self Reliant India' would be at the cost of the indigenous peoples.

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"Historically, Indigenous Peoples have borne the brunt of India's development. The Planning Commission of India stated in October 2001 that during 1951-1990, 21.3 million people were displaced by various development projects, out of which 8.54 million i.e. 40.1% were tribals although the tribals had constituted only 8% of the total population of the country at 1991 census. They must not once again be forced to bear the brunt of India's COVID-19 economic recovery plans," said Dilip Chakma, President of the Indigenous Lawyers Association of India.

Later, calling for the withdrawal of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2020, the NGOs expressed concern over 30 proposals approved or discussed for clearance through virtual meetings by India's highest advisory bodies including the National Board for Wildlife, Forest Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Environment during the lockdown.

These projects include the Etalin Hydro Electric Project known as the Dibang Valley project in Arunachal Pradesh, coal mining proposal in Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve in Assam, a highway through Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa, a limestone mine in the eco-sensitive zone of Gir National Park, and a geotechnical investigation in the Sharavathi Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary in Karnataka.

There have been specific areas of concern in the changes brought about in draft EIA 2020 - most significant being the provisions for the post-facto project clearance; dilution and in some cases elimination of the process of public consultation that can pose a great threat to the environment.

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"The rule of law is seldom applied with respect to the Indigenous Peoples but the now government itself is promoting lawlessness with respect to the development projects in the lands inhabited by Indigenous Peoples. The legal protections are being systematically undermined," added Suhas Chakma, Coordinator of the National Campaign against Torture.

The experts said that in the midst of total lockdown, Indigenous Peoples were forcibly evicted by the authorities across the country. On 6 April 2020, forest department officials torched the huts of Konkani, Bhil and Warli indigenous communities at Kamat village in Dang district, Gujarat. On 24 April 2020, the forest department officials demolished homes of 32 Adivasis living at Sagada village in Khandualmali forest area in Odisha, forcing them to live under mahua trees and surviving for many days on mahua leaves. In June 2020, 80 Koya tribal families of Satyaranarayanam of Ganugapadu in Telangana were evicted by the forest department.

The NGOs also suggested the government to implement the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General to not include coal in the COVID-19 recovery plans and cancel the coal mines allocated for auctioning and develop a specific COVID-19 recovery plan for and with the Indigenous People of the country.